Mr. James Morrison st v 25 Orion Engineering Services Ltd. — 2022

The tribunal held that in March or April 2020 the respondent entered into a legally binding agreement with each claimant to place them on temporary CJRS furlough and to pay 80% of basic salary while they remained on furlough. It also found that each claimant was in fact put on furlough and paid correctly for the initial period from 23 March 2020 to 23 April 2020.

The dispute concerned the period 27 April 2020 to 26 May 2020. The tribunal found that the respondent did not remove any claimant from furlough at any relevant time. In particular, the April 2020 telephone calls did not clearly tell the claimants that furlough had ended or that furlough pay would stop, no prompt written notice was sent after those calls, and the 4 May 2020 letters gave the reasonable impression that the claimants were still on temporary CJRS furlough and still entitled to 80% pay while on furlough.

Because the claimants remained on furlough, and because none of them was paid wages for that period, the tribunal held that the deductions were not authorised by statute, by contract, or by written consent. It therefore found all three unlawful deduction from wages claims well-founded and ordered the respondent to pay £1,724.44 to each claimant, a total of £5,173.32.